Beyond Hope
by Mishimash
Summary: What would the world be like if Dante hadn't defeated Mundus?
1. Chapter 1

AN: A short little piece dreamt up on a whim! Hope you enjoy. Any errors? Please tell me!

I don't own any of the characters of the DMC game - Capcom does but if I did…oOOoo…

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**Beyond Hope**

She jolted awake with a start, snapping her eyes open as a small beam of white light shone onto her face. Suddenly blinded by the intensity; it burned her retinas, forcing her to close them tightly as soon as they were opened. Without the assistance of her sight, she listened for any sounds, a jingle, a thud, a hum: anything, save for the silence ringing in her ears. Nothing. Just the dead stillness.

Feeling around her body, she shifted an arm, trying to raise the limb from its position at her sides. Nothing. A tendril of alarm slithered its way into the back of her brain and she frowned.

_Move it again_. A slight twitch to her right fingers and she mentally sighed in relief. Another twitch of her muscles and she curled her fingers into a fist. _Now the other one_. Another twitch from the strain of her muscles and her left hand was mechanically moving about freely in front of her.

Covering her eyes, she opened them a sliver, getting accustomed to the light and taking in the cramped space she was lying in. She was in a…where was she? _Nevermind that. Get out of here, first._

She made to lift a leg, but the response she got was just as appalling as how her arms responded. She remained lying still for a moment; unable to lift her body up so she pulled her muscles to lift her head as far as the compact area allowed her to.

She was a total mess. Her luxurious and undoubtedly expensive, dark blue, cable-knit sweater was completely covered in dust and plaster; her denim black jeans were also dusted with plaster bits and debris. Pulling a face, she couldn't dust herself off in such a confined area so she turned her attention to her feet. Her flat shoes were covered in equally dusty muck and caked with dirt.

Testing again, she tried to move her toes. It felt as if her nerves weren't responding to anything she wanted anymore.

_Move_

…

_MOVE_

…

_MOVE DAMMIT!_

Another heave of her muscles, straining to contract and the outline of her toes through the canvas, twitched in response. Dropping her head with a sigh, she began to lift her leg, only to find that it still didn't want to respond.

_Blood flow, I need more blood._ So she began to rub at her thighs, as far down as she could reach to get some circulation flowing, beating and kneading the muscles.

Ten minutes of messaging her stiff limbs and her work paid off. A jerk of the muscles and her leg bent tentatively at the knee, upwards on a forty-five degree angle.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she felt her eyes drooping, exhaustion written across her face and she succumbed to slumber as the beam of light began to recede.

…

She awoke to the beam of light radiating onto her cheek again. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she focused on her surroundings, roaming across the patchy boards and planks looming 10 inches above her head. Shifting her head sideways, she seemed to be lying on some cardboard cartons and various other lengths of wooden planks. How the hell did she get here?

Oh god, where the hell am I? Her anxiety doubled as she realised she had to find a way out.

Her memory was hazy at best; gaping black holes were dotting her mind like a slice of Swiss cheese. All she remembered before waking up was seeing her sister, Miera, off to school, and then boarding the tram to work.

After that…before that…it was all blank.

_What the hell happened?_

Tears stung her eyes as the liquid began to well; desperation was permeating through the stale air but she bit back the sob that was bursting to escape. Taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves, she closed her eyes.

_Focus! Gotta get out!_

Blinking back the tears, she lightly ran her fingers along the boards above her, finding a groove or imperfection along the surface. Beginning at the hole where the light was coming from, she gently pushed. A slight give to the board and she pushed with more force. Something was giving way as more light streamed out of the opening. The slide of wooden planks and boards grating against each other reverberated in the confined space.

_Is this construction debris?_

Pushing further, dust and fresh air drifted in and she had to squint to stop the particles floating about from getting into her eyes.

The soft rays of sunlight radiated onto her face and warmed her body from her considerably cold shelter. Looking up, the sky was a swirl of dark hazy molten ash, traces of black ink plumed in one corner of the sky. The sun had peeked through the obscure clouds; itself a glob of weak light threatening to cower within the mist.

It was a beautifully haunting landscape beyond the high rise buildings, but further past the buildings were three ruby red orbs; casting an omniscient glare with small electrical currents crackling and writhing between the light source.

She was sitting up now, her back protesting in pain but she endured the pain and twisted her body from side to side slowly at first, working the kinks out. Her mind suddenly realised she was lying on top of a pile of rubbish. All sorts of debris and rubble piled into the mound, forming a small hill. Tires, twisted metal pipes, flat timber boards, even a motorcycle was heaped into the pile.

Suddenly feeling paranoid that the construction might collapse at any moment, she wasted no time in trying to get out. Pushing up with her arms, she tried to stand up on wobbly legs, her legs quivering then giving way, sending her flying back on top of the broken boards and grimy rubbish. Several attempts later and she was carefully half-standing, half-crawling her way down the heap.

How much time had passed to cause her body to become so weak? There was no way to tell.

…

Two hours of frustration later and her legs began to co-operate properly, walking without support.

_One foot before the other. Baby steps._

Toddling at a slow, steady pace, she had climbed out of the collapsed rubble and wandered down the wide street, looking back at the large pile of remains of a building that served as her shelter for…lord knew how long. Tall buildings lined the street on both sides completely trashed: broken windows, chunks of it were scattered to the ground, leaving it lopsided while small holes in its surface could be seen.

The streets itself were uneven. Deep fissures and cracks tore into the asphalt as cars, trucks and bicycles were left abandoned, the metal and paint rotting off from harsh weathering as the windows were all smashed.

_What happened…?_

It was all too strange. Too empty. Where was everyone? No signs of any sort of life could be seen – no people, no cats or dogs, no birds chirping and no plant life. Everything seemed completely dead. She stared hard at her surroundings, trying to recognise where she was, but nothing came to mind – she couldn't remember anything save for the fact that she had a sister. She knew with certainty that Miera was her sister; knew that they were close sisters, although she was older by 3 years. It was always Miera and herself that were inseparable. Miera and her…

_Oh god, what's my name?_ she thought frantically, _Think, think, think!_

Nothing came to mind. Did she have amnesia? She should have if she had no clue of anything, but how did it come about?

A seed of doubt and confusion began to thread its way around her heart and she fought back the tears that were once again threatening to freely flow.

Ambling her way through the scattered debris, she wound her way down the empty street; no signs of life to be seen still.

A breeze began to pick up, blowing her wild black hair about; churning the dust and litter about in a whirlwind in the street. Wrapping her arms about herself, she made to weave her way away from the centre of the road and onto the pavements but a floating sheet of crumpled and yellowed paper caught her eye.

**A NEW SPECIE?**

Striding to the fluttering paper, she grasped the edge firmly and tried to straighten the fragile, crumbly sheet, but seeing as the wind was determinedly blowing the paper about, she moved to the sidewalks, still clutching the torn tabloid sheet and noticed a reflection in the broken shop window.

She stared at the figure looking back at her with a passive blank stare; her hazelnut brown eyes gazed on with a hollow emptiness. Black, softly curled hair was tangled in clumps with various pieces of rubbish intertwined while her heart-shaped face was coated with grey dust and dirt; the grey turning black as tear tracks streaked across her face to create a ghostly effect.

The most disturbing aspect of the image before her was that the girl staring back at her wasn't familiar. This was her? Studying the image before her, she was willowy and lean, as if she had lost a great deal of weight; not too tall but not too short either – she seemed to be an average person.

Another gust of wind lashed the newspaper still grasped firmly in her fist. Eyes drifting back to the heading of the tabloid, she climbed through the broken door and into the darkened shop. Crunching with each step, she cautiously looked around, finding herself in a clothes boutique. The inside was no better than the outside: rubble from a partly collapsed roof and broken glass littered the shop floor but she cleared a small patch on the carpeted floor, catching sight of another ripped newspaper lying on the floor. Crawling over, she snatched the newspaper, placing it to the side, before smoothing the creases of the paper in her fist out. Somehow the experience of waking up in a pile of rubble was more alarming than her current state of fashion.

She searched the top of the page for a date: Wednesday 4th March, 2009.

March 2009. What was the last date she remembered? She'd walked Miera to her school after taking the bus to the closest stop; didn't the transport validator display a date when she scanned her card? Patting her pant pockets for the transport card, she pulled a small, black, leather card holder and flipped through the cards, scrutinizing each card. First, a business card that read:

Allied Inc.

Lilly Collins

Technical Manager

Lilly Collins?

"Lilly Collins." she said, testing the name on her tongue. It sounded...nice. Very feminine.

Flipping the plastic pockets, she found a credit card to Lilly Collins, an insurance card to Lilly Collins, a drivers license to Lilly Collins and finally a slim card made to Lilly Collins and labelled 'City Transport' in the corner. Sliding the card out from its pocket, she examined the tiny screen at the bottom and pressed the small elevated red dot next to the label. A beep and the screen scrolled the words:

Balance:

……

$13.50

……

Last use:

……

13/3/09

Another beep and the screen flashed black, before switching itself off.

13th March? 2009? And if the date on the newspaper was made on the 4th...what the hell happened to the nine days in between?

Setting the cards aside, she leant over the tabloid again and began to read the article.

'…creatures have emerged in small towns of the coastal region of Mallania, the infamously fabled town, rumoured to be haunted by the ghosts of old-age medieval phantoms. Reportedly, there have been accounts of mutilated bodies turning up on the fringes of the small villages. Recent footage of supernatural creatures have surfaced on various amateur videos displaying dark figures, resembling primates in structure, moving in the distance, unlike any other wild creature known to inhabit the area. There have also been apparent reports of mutilated sheep and cattle as well as human remains on farming property. At the time of publishing, there has been no confirmation from officials of the Salvatore government in response to the multitude of videos springing up on the cable news channels and internet…'

The article was cut at the bottom where a blurred coloured picture, perhaps a still shot of one of the amateur footages taken, depicted a black blur hunched over in some high grass field with a night sky background.

Creatures? That seemed a bit far fetched.

Turning her attention to the newspaper she'd just found; she read the front page:

**CHAOS: TERROR MONSTERS**

The title of the article sent a shiver down her spine, knowing this wasn't from a tabloid magazine; this was from a _newspaper_ – it had to be accurate.

Her eyes trailed to down to the article.

'Terror has sprung from the provinces of Miran, Teletha, Vinara and Kumas.'

Lifting her gaze up from the paper, her eyes wandered off. Something about the sentence had rung a bell. She reread the line again. Teletha…Nope, it was useless - she couldn't remember a thing.

'Today, the Government has declared a state of emergency as chaos erupts from the neighbouring countries of the Southern Salvatore region where it is reported that creatures, possibly people, described to be 'demonically possessed' by the local villagers and creatures of unnatural origins have begun to emerge. Reports of similar occurrences in the Northern Salvatore region have been made as well. Sources have stated that the emergence of these extraordinary occurrences, likened to an 'epidemic', will spread further, following the pattern of attacks.

With the country in a state of panic, villagers and residents in the cities have flocked to the border in a bid to flee the terror, many crossing illegally to various neighbouring countries. Of the villagers at the border, most have stated to have seen the beasts ravaging their towns and murdering people, even in daylight.

Salvatore's Prime Minister has ordered a complete shut down of all land, air and sea routes to Salvatore - North and South - in a bid to isolate the situation. Civilians trapped in the affected areas are ordered to remain in doors at all times as the military, issued late last night, are to patrol the streets, day and night. Any civilian seen out on the streets have been warned already and military personnel have been given authorisation to shoot to kill. For how long this restriction will be in place, remains to be seen.

**Continued on page 3'**

She flipped the newspaper, finding pages missing, including the page 3 but she'd had enough. She had an inkling of what had happened. Looking at the masthead, she read the date.

22nd May 2009.

Where has the time gone? It seemed as though she was in a coma of some sort for well over a month. Come to think of it, she had no real idea of what date it was presently.

Demonically possessed…unnatural origins…mutilated bodies?

A cold shiver twisted its way to her heart as she read the articles. It felt like a movie story or something. Things like that never appeared for real. But this was clearly reality and she was definitely not dreaming.

The gust of chilly air swept into the shop front, kicking up dirt and dust. Squinting and bunching her shoulders, she looked around, spotting clothes stands lying down, clothes on coat hangers flung to the ground. Looking at her own clothes, which were ripped and torn in various places, she raked through the clothes; grabbing shirts, a pair of new jeans, a woolly sweater and a waist-tied tartan trenchcoat.

_Change…need somewhere to clean up..._

Clambering over the dispersed rubbish over the floor, she headed for the back of the shop, eyes widening at finding a small, grimy bathroom with muddied prints over every inch of the surface.

…

An hour later and she was feeling much more energised; cleaner and refreshed with the new clothes keeping her warm. Walking back out to the shop front, the light was fading outside and darkness was going to settle into the streets soon. She needed to find a place to keep safe. A loud, rumbling growl echoed in the small room and she wrapped a hand around her waist; maybe getting something to eat would also be a good idea, before her stomach began to eat its' way out.

Her eyes drifted back to the newspaper still lying on the ground, mind racing back to the horrible stories she'd just learned not too long ago. Was it safe to go outside? Even with the light shining outside, she felt uneasy at the knowledge of 'unusual creatures' existing.

Staying here wasn't going to help her much, she felt exposed in the ravaged shop, where the shattered windows left her bare and vulnerable as paranoia began to overcome her senses. Popping up the trenchcoat collar, she glanced back to the newspaper and bent down to swipe up the cards left lying on the carpet and strode out the broken door.

…

A rumble in the distance alerted him to another new presence; not in this city, but in the other one, the one specifically used for regeneration.

Another being…could it be him? After all these years, he dared show his face again?

A smile slipped into place on his pale features as he rose from his seat, the katana he never parted with clutched in one hand and disappeared with a trace.

…

Weaving her way down the street, there were no signs of life still, dark rolling clouds were drifting into view and the red and orange haze that was settling before, was fading to a dark prussian blue. The only light remaining in the night sky was the luminescent glow of the three red orbs scrutinising every inch of surface below, stalking her every move.

Clutching her sides tighter, she walked on, not sure where she was heading.

…

Steady footsteps were clapping in the still night, never faltering. It was dark all around; only shadows playing about on the broken, mangled remains on the once, admittedly impressive city. Beautiful arching, swirling pillars that once gave the illusion of strength and support, now lay shattered, broken and decrepit, unrepairable. Crumbled stone slabs, carved from fine marble lay eroding at the side, paving the way to a black, twisted and sinister edifice that loomed over the fallen, insignificant city.

The clack of steps continued in the silent night.

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AN: Good? No good? Any thoughts, comments and critiques you may have will be treasured! 


	2. Chapter 2

**-Two-**

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A pang of sharp needles dug into her heart, jolting her out of her daze as her hand instinctively flung outwards to steady her body. The crash of broken glass rang harshly in her ears as she doubled over, kneeling over the crystal shards. Her eyes were clouding over with the pain; dots flying everywhere like static covering her vision until she could only see grey. The pulsating sensation fading in and out at intervals as her heart muscles contracted continually. The blood pumping through her veins were on fire as the burning sensation spread through to her fingertips. Shutting her eyes, she could only hope that the agonising pulsation in her body would go away.

It was a few minutes until she could calm her body from the sensations that were flooding through. Her hands had stopped shaking, but her body still retained the fine trembles running along her spine. The grey static cleared, restoring her sight. Her hands were damp with sweat and blood; small flakes of glass had sliced the skin while half moons lined the palms as she had dug her nails into the flesh.

That unbearable pain was something she'd never felt before, not at least, from what she could remember. Ignoring the blood that was slowly seeping from her palms, she wiped her eyes with her sleeves and set about finding some material as bandages amongst the ruins of the relatively tidy pawn shop save for the fact that some pipe seemed to have burst over the period that the shop was ambushed and the floor was covered in shallow, murky water.

Although a lot of the contents of the shop were unharmed, it smelt horribly musty like a library where thousands of ancient books sat, collecting dust and rotting on each shelf – a product of the water rotting the wood and the odd item floating about. Lifting the counter top, she had been about to enter the back of the shop before her episode in the case that she'd find useful supplies and a place to gather her wits.

Stepping over the broken glass, papers and scraps of damaged goods, she crossed to the adjoining room. It was bare compared to the rest of the shop, but fixed to the wall on the left was a flat metal first aid kit. She nearly ripped the white metal box off the wall in her haste, opening the tin and making quick work with the bandages. She was about to resume searching for any shelter that she could stay in for the night, but the sharp pain ghosted in her chest, lingering, and she knew she would be unable to find sleep – not without knowing where her sister was.

She regarded the kit splayed out in front of her and packed the supplies back in, casting her eyes around for a bag of some sort. Stepping back out into the front shop, she found a backpack to dump the contents into, as well as throwing in a map, flashlight with spare batteries under the counter and a handful of lighters before casting a final glance to the ruined shop. She knew where she was going now, couldn't afford to waste anymore time wandering aimlessly around. Lilly needed to find her sister, had to know if Miera was ok.

The gusty winds attacked from all sides as she stepped back out into the streets. The flickering lights of the streetlamps cast an intimidating backdrop as some flicked on, then died completely for a disconcertingly long period. Roaring into her ears and tossing her hair about in all directions, she was forced to find a piece of string, dirty as it was, to tie her long knotted hair down in an attempt to fight against the blustery conditions. It was getting intense with the updraft of wind against the tall buildings on both sides, but she endured the winds, clutching the collar of her jacket tighter to her neck and wished she had snatched a scarf among the other items she'd taken from the boutique.

_What do I do now?_

Spending the night in a bus shelter, the makeshift bed covered with ratty cardboard and newspaper over a bench, she was kept awake throughout the night. Listening to the squally winds blow around outside the shelter, threatening to knock the small refuge over Lilly had never felt so alone and lying on that bench made her more pessimistic on the bleak outlook of her future. But during that time, she had thought out her options; her first priority being to find her sister.

Pulling the backpack tighter around her shoulders, she hunched over slightly, and advanced closer to the heart of the city.

…

"…eep!"

Stopping dead in her tracks, Lilly wasn't sure if she'd heard the wind whistling in her ear or if that was a real voice screaming. It was a miracle she even heard anything over the howling wind but she strained her ears and listened, concentrating to heighten her senses.

"…eee…eepp!!"

It was faint but loud enough to be recognisable. She was definitely not alone, but where was it coming from? Glancing down the empty street on both sides, was it from her right in the next shop, or the collapsed building on the opposite?

Opening her mouth, all that came out was a hoarse croak. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

"He-Hello…?" she called out tentatively, trying to project her unused voice out towards what she thought was the right direction.

"Is anyone there?" She paused, stilled her body and strained her ears for sound. It sounded like it was coming from that direction.

A faint echo of tapping stirred her to life; it was coming from across the street! Frantically pulling away the unstable debris, she had to continually glance up for fear that the building structure wouldn't crumple on top of her.

"Are you there? Can you hear me?" Lilly called out, not pausing as she scrabbled to remove planks and bricks out of the way, her fingers beginning to ache from the rough surfaces.

"Help meee!"

It was a small voice, frightened and frenetic like a small child. Lilly began to scoop and push the debris away instead of pulling them off one by one. Stepping to the side, the tumble of rubble down the small hill gave way to reveal a tiny slip of a girl, about seven or eight, cringing with closed eyes from the immediate bright light. Her skin was caked with grime and streaks of dirt where tears clagged with dust trailed down her eyes.

"Hey…are you alright? Are you hurt?" Lilly gently asked, trying to assess the girl before taking her out of the pile of rubble. With a small shake of the head, the girl tried to open her eyes, wincing with pain that the light brought on.

"Hey, it's ok, you don't need to open your eyes just yet. I'm gonna get you out, alright? What's your name?"

"Sh-sharma." Sharma sniffled and kept her eyes shut tightly.

"Sharma, that's a pretty name. I'm Lilly. Look, I'm gonna pull you out but first, can you move your legs or your arms?" Lilly asked. She knew from not too long ago that feeling of waking up alone and paralysed. Just thinking about it and now about this girl brought up more questions than she could handle.

"I-I can't move…my legs…my arms…I…can't feel them!" Sharma sobbed and fresh tears streamed into her hair.

Putting a hand on her, Lilly tried to soothe the panic-stricken girl and stretched out her arms to gather the girl up, hauling with all her strength. She almost slipped whilst carrying the limp girl down the slope of debris but she finally cleared the way and set the girl down.

"You'll need to work your muscles a bit to get them moving." Lilly said. Wiping Sharma's grimy face with her sleeve and attempting to tame the unruly tangle of hair. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Sharma…what do you remember before you woke up?" If the girl could remember her name, maybe she could tell her more about what happened here?

The girl squinted up at her; thin slivers of chilly blue eyes stared at her as she tried to recall the events.

"Flashes…of…black. Growling…something snarling at me…" she stiffly shook her head, her expression was more than enough to indicate that she didn't want to continue recalling that memory.

"…That's ok…if you don't want to tell me, then its ok. I understand. I woke up just the same as you, but I don't remember anything, that' why. Would you be able to help me?" Lilly carefully said, not wanting to push her. The information that she'd gathered from the tabloids was pretty extreme but she had to be sure that it was real, that she wasn't in some insane nightmare. Adding the girl's description just made the situation a whole lot creepier.

"I…I don't know. I was…in the car with dad and…we were going to go shopping for food and…Dad's not here, is he?" Sharma whispered the last of the sentence out, her eyes now open completely and more tears were welling up as she cast her gaze around the vicinity.

"Don't worry about it. We'll find him soon enough, he's probably asleep somewhere, like you were." Lilly changed the subject, delicately choosing her words as the dejected girl knew the answer before she asked. Her own words were beginning to ring through her mind as she thought of Miera. Feelings of anxiety and unease sprang up once more as Sharma's helplessness began to waver her own confidence.

"Are you hungry? Let's go find something to eat." Hunger was the least on her mind but the girl would have to at least eat something or get cleaned up, she was stick thin, dirty and shivering in her thin long sleeve shirt and jeans; it could also serve to distract her from further trauma.

Pulling on her hand, Lilly led the girl to a nearby convenience store around the corner, bypassing the scattered remnants of several cars at the front of the shops. She didn't want to think about Miera or the sort of situation she could be in; for now, the girl needed some nutrition and she needed to think about their next move.

…

It was rapidly getting dark fast and with the nightfall came the bitter cold winds. Scurrying around the streets, Lilly knew she had to find some shelter quickly before the darkness consumed the streets. She had a responsibility to get the girl safe and warm, even though she only just met her – the girl was helpless on her own. But she had one more thing to do before they settled for the night, and it couldn't wait.

The fearful concern over her sister was getting harder to suppress as well as they continued to warily walk through the maze of back alleys. She only hoped that Miera would be okay, wherever she was. Of course she was determined to find her, backtracking her steps to where she thought was the high school her sister attended. Memories were patchy at most, the more she tried to concentrate on the last moments before she woke up, the more the scraps of memories slowly became clearer, but it still wasn't enough to produce a coherent recollection of what specifically occurred. How did she end up waking in a pile of rubble? She couldn't explain it.

Winding further down to the heart of the city, her sisters' school should have been located near the towering newspaper building opposite the row of apartments. From the distance, she could see the apartments partially blocking her view, but instead of expecting the tall newspaper building, it was replaced by a looming, wickedly black edifice.

Although her memories were in disarray, she knew with certainty that the looming tower built like a cathedral was definitely not a building she had seen before, nor had it ever existed at that location. The architectural design was otherworldly, not created by any known human that she knew – she had been in Salvatore long enough to know that a structure this massive would have attracted much attention. Its roughly hewn yet gothical nature of sweeping detailed curves, embellishments, baroques and piked arches were beautifully carved from what looked to be stone.

Unnatural. That's what it felt like when she cast her gaze upon the building. It was captivating, but very unnatural, out of place in a modern city with technical designs full of smooth curved surfaces or straight flattened planes.

What was it doing here?

Holding onto Sharma's hand tightly, she quickened her pace, impatient to get to the site. Weaving around the abandoned cars, randomly wrecked furniture, litter and junk, more of the enormous construction was revealed, while no trace of the school building could be seen. Panic blossomed in the pit of her stomach as any trace of the prestigious high school was quickly vanishing.

…

It was nearly dark when he arrived. Not that it mattered to him; his exceptional eyesight always allowed him to view the world with crystallinity in all conditions, whether it was day or night. It was partly a result of his mixed lineage – one that did not warrant contemplation.

With a steady gait, he strode through the compound made by the enslaved souls back when the city was captured. It wasn't extremely elegant or extravagant compared to the fortress that was initially built in the first sector established since the invasion, but it was enough to ensure it was practical and functional like all other constructional posts made.

He continued to navigate his way to the elaborate entrance of the hall to the city outside; having designed the fortress himself, he knew all the paths, both conventional and hidden routes.

The massive doors of polished oak swung inwards as he approached, opening by unseen forces. The light that filtered through from the outside as the doors widened shone through to illuminate the obscurity of hall inside. As the beams of sunlight touched the marble floor and crept up to the banisters railing around the hall, a flurry of movement from all sides sprang to life. Sharply, he turned his head up to glance around, his eyes catching sight of long spiny tails whipping around, the glint of eyes gleaming back from the shadows, hissing towards the abrupt intrusion as daylight lightly seared the sensitive skin of the inhabitants of the fortress.

Tilting his face towards the sunlight, he paused. The warmth radiated onto his pallid skin, touching gossamer white strands of hair and spreading over the dark form. How long had it been since such warmth touched his face?

Awhile. Since…that day…

He didn't care to follow that train of thought. It wasn't for him to contemplate and he would not waste further energy regarding the remnants of his ghost. He was on a hunt and it wouldn't do for him to linger on the past.

Continuing down the steps out of the fort, he reached out with his senses, tendrils of his mind extending out and searching for any signs.

…

She knew from the moment she caught a glimpse of his still profile that there was something off about him. If it were another person, a friendlier, pleasant person, she would've jumped up and started assaulting them with questions, grateful that there were more people.

Slick, platinum hair shone in the moonlight, casting a glow on his pale face…and what a face! High prominent cheekbones, sculpted lips and piercing luminescent eyes glowed an unnatural arctic blue. His tall outline melded with the shadows, hiding half of his profile from view, but of what she could see, he didn't seem to have a speck of dirt on his pristine, dark clothing.

Clutching Sharma closer, she ducked her head back down behind the mangled wreck of a building frame structure and tried to huddle around the girl, protectively shielding her from view. She couldn't afford to make any sudden movements to leave, although her instincts told her to run as soon as she saw this new stranger. He was the second person she'd seen after waking up but those same instincts told her to avoid any confrontation. Of course, she desperately wanted to talk to him, find out what he knew and what happened, but the sword he held loosely by his side did not exude any warmth or friendliness. Her only option at this point was to remain quiet and hope to God that the danger would pass quickly and he would go away.

Curiosity got the better of her when she heard several inhuman growls emanating from the strangers direction. Lifting her head up slowly, she extended her body up slightly to peer over the metal frame.

There were five of them in total. Black shadows that writhed in the background; no wonder she hadn't noticed them immediately. The guy with silvery hair was like a beam of light from heaven, outshining everything into the background. Ducking her head back down again, she hoped she didn't stare for too long, counting in her head the minutes it took for them to leave.

A feral growl rasped above her. Shooting up straight, Lilly gasped and seized Sharma's arms, gripping tightly and tensed to bolt out of hiding until she realised after straining her eyes in the darkness, that the shadowy figure above her was not facing her direction, rather its' back was, and it was walking – or stalking – towards the other direction. Cursing inside her head, she hoped she hadn't made a ruckus as several of the figures moved back towards the direction of the large construction from which they came from.

She waited a few more minutes, watching as they moved further away. The tall stranger seemed to pause as he turned away as well, tilting his head slightly to the side, as if listening like how a fox would tilt his head for sounds. Lilly stilled her body, holding her breath; she couldn't afford to duck her head for fear of making any obvious sounds. If he saw her face above the ledge right there then she'd be found. Silently willing him to continue forward, he seemed to obey her wish and strode on towards the direction of the other creatures. His silhouette began to tremor and waver lightly at the edges like static on a screen. In less than a heartbeat, his profile vanished in thin air.

Waiting a further five minutes, ten minutes, then fifteen minutes before stretching up, Lilly looked down at Sharma and signalled with a finger to her lips to remain silent. The girl solemnly nodded her head and they crept along the dark shadows surrounding the ruins of skeletal buildings, careful to make as little sound as they possibly could.

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**AN**: I'm planning to bump up the ratings for the language in later chapters – I hope people aren't bothered by that…if you are, lemme know! Leave a review and I'll give you ten double choc chip muffins…mmm…X) Thanks to IceCamaro and Ri2 for their reviews. 


	3. Chapter 3

AN: No, I'm not dead! Enjoy the chapter and gimme a comment!

**-Three-**

* * *

The sky was streaked with smudges of green, purple and orange amongst the dark night sky. Colours of the spectrum were blotched here and there, surrounding the bright sparkle of stars flecked across an endless black canvas. 

The phenomenon was something Lilly didn't care to fathom over. Her mind was numb as she focussed on what she was doing, which was silently sneaking amongst the shadows, keeping to the walls of the buildings to trace her way back to the temporary shelter she shared with Sharma.

Being responsible for the kid, Lilly spent the whole night scouting areas to find somewhere safe, somewhere away from the terrifyingly real nightmares. The next step right now was finding supplies for themselves to last the night; most notably a makeshift bed for Sharma, which she made out of the sheets of material found from all over the place, and food to feed the diminutive girl and bringing them back to the small abandoned shelter they'd occupied. The shelter wasn't safe, nowhere was safe if those creatures were prowling the streets, but it was good enough - it served its purpose. Hopefully.

Hidden away in an alleyway it was a small storage area behind an arts and craft shop, filled with age old supplies and a musty odour. There were canvases, tubs of hardened paint of all colours, fuzzy balls of wool and stacked rolls of patterned material. They had found the hidden storage room after darting from one dark building to another, sticking close to the gloom and avoiding any noises if there ever were any. It was only by chance that they'd noticed the alleyway and determined that it was least repulsive in terms of stench. Curious, they walked forth into the dim alleyway and happened to find less trash amongst the ruins of the dead end as well as an unlocked door.

Lilly hesitantly turned on the flashlight onto the lowest setting only once the flimsy steel door was firmly closed shut, holding her hand to the door frame to smother any creaks and thuds made and once she had stuffed scrap fabric under the doorway. She'd been very careful not to use the light unless it was the most extreme of emergencies – they didn't need further attention from the creatures they'd witnessed earlier.

There sitting in a corner amongst the rolls of fabric was Sharma, slowly and carefully unrolling the material out to cover the cold concrete floor which was to serve as their beds. Her movements were precise and deliberate to minimise the sounds as if someone was sleeping peacefully right next to her; bony hands twisting and turning to lay the material out flat on the ground.

Walking around the props and canvases piled next to the door, she made her way to Sharma carrying the last of the items that she could find. She was exhausted, she needed a rest and if they needed anything else…well, they could always try to find more in the morning. Settling down, she unwrapped the huge sack she carried around on her back, which was really just a large relatively clean sheet of fabric folded to wrap all the food and supplies.

Dusty cans filled with preserved fruit and spaghetti, bottles of water and boxes of stale biscuits were arranged to one corner, while the spare batteries, a radio transmitter, a tourist's map of the city and various other bits to another side. With a far away expression, Sharma had seemed to take an interest in Lilly's movements, watching her spread the blankets, folding some neatly to form pillows. Settling down, Lilly reached for a can of fruit.

"Are you hungry?" Lilly whispered lightly, they didn't want to make any noise than was necessary.

"No." Sharma whispered back, equally quiet.

"Are you sure? You haven't eaten since…" She broke off, remembering the way she found the girl. _That was _not_ tactful._

"Alright then, let's just get some sleep."

Spreading the blankets between them, they lay down on the cushioned heap of material, aware of the painfully hard flat surface beneath them.

"Lilly?"

"Hmm?"

"You feel it too, don't you?" The girl spoke in a hushed tone, "I can feel it…crawling under my skin."

Lilly paused, her hands holding the blankets she was arranging around Sharma's small body. _Crawling under her skin?_

The girl took a ragged breath and half whispered, "It's like…it has a life of its own."

From under her hands, Lilly felt a fine tremor run through Sharma's small form. The girl was getting stranger the longer she spent time with her; her behaviour was becoming detached, distant to the point where all emotions and reactions associated with young children seeped out. Was this the result of trauma? Perhaps the extreme reactions to the situation were a result of the young age, she reasoned.

Taking the covers, she tucked the girl in tightly, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulders. No matter what, Sharma was still a child, someone that needed to be protected and that was what Lilly was going to do.

"Don't worry about it; don't think about it for now. Just get some sleep, you need your energy if we're gonna find your mum and dad, right?"

Sharma only nodded, but her face told Lilly that she knew she wouldn't see her parents again. There was simply no hope in her gaze.

"Hey." She tried to say firmly yet quietly, "I'm serious here, tomorrow we're gonna go out and find them. They're probably hiding in a shelter like us. I'm sure they're just waiting for you to find them, that's all."

The girl only turned her head away and looked straight up at the ceiling. Sighing, Lilly reached for the flashlight, not sure how to comfort a child unwilling to hope.

Lying back, Lilly gazed into the blackness. She didn't want to say good night. How could she when she knew it wasn't going to be? Now with the knowledge that monsters really do exist, she had to take precautions. She had been paranoid about everything, the monsters sense of smell, their own intelligence, what if they had special abilities? Maybe she'd seen far too many movies, but she didn't want to be careless like the characters in horror films. She ought to be standing guard as well just in case, but the day had been draining on her. She needed the sleep.

Half an hour later and sleep still would not come to her. The silence was deafening now. It was like a cricket was chirping next to her ears, but she tried to empty her mind. _Ignore everything else, just sleep._

It was out of the blue, but she felt something. Not a specific tangible presence, but a slimy, restless sort of feeling, gnawing deep inside her stomach. She calmed herself for a second, pushing past the gnawing and felt another disturbing sensation. There, just under the skin. It was like her muscles were jolting, contracting involuntarily. Not just in one spot, but everywhere. Then it left abruptly, only to come back, minutely pulsating until it became just a weak twitch and faded altogether. Mentally shaking her head, she opened her eyes and looked down. She wasn't able to see anything, but the comfort that she had her eyes open was reassuring.

_Lack of food and sleep sorta makes you feel like that..._she mentally chided herself.

Scooting closer, she wrapped an arm around the girl, rubbing her arm through the fabrics, covering her small frame, not really for heat, but for comfort.

"I do feel it…" She whispered to herself, stroking the Sharma's baby fine hair back. The simple, soothing act brought her back to when her mother did the exact same thing, always stroking her hair back after another bout of nightmares woke her up soaking wet in sweat.

Her mother's cool fingers brushed over her forehead, whispering that it was ok; there was no need to be afraid.

_It was all just a dream…see?_

And she'd turn on the lamp, swivelling the head to face away from the slumbering form on the next bed.

_We'd better not wake your sister. Do you feel better now?_

She always did after the light was turned on…because she knew she wasn't alone. Her sister was always there, right next to her.

…

Sleep still would not come to her and her brain was still actively assessing her situation. Miera's face constantly flashed across the back of her eyelids, sowing more seeds of concern at the back of her mind.

Miera…the huge building…those terrifying creatures … and that man. What did it all mean? Who is he and what exactly were those creatures?

Flashes of those blurred black figures within the old newspapers were followed by the quick glimpses she'd seen before.

Those monsters were the creatures from the article, she was sure of it. If it were true, that these monsters really did raid the city like the newspapers said, then what happened to the people?

She saw no evidence of living life except for the child slumbering next to her and though the city definitely showed signs of human inhabitants, she couldn't say how long ago the city had been vacated. She had no clue of the year or date of the present time and no one was able to inform her.

_They're probably hiding in a shelter like us._ Was that really true?

Did she really think people had survived with those creatures around? Then again, Sharma was proof that there could be survivors. But _where?_

She needed a direction, some clue to guide her, something to go on, but all she got was the black looming fortress that miraculously appeared in the middle of the city.

She was alone, with no one else to help her, but this girl whom she had taken upon herself to be accountable of…she couldn't even take care of herself! It felt like a cheap movie. One second she was walking off the tram, the next, lying down in a deserted city, piled underneath junk and rubble. It was like she had woken up in a coffin made of randomly thrown materials, anything to cover a body. And to top it off, there were monsters frolicking about the place!

The low wet rasping growls reverberated in her head as she thought about the hunched dark bodies surrounding the silvery man. Their glowing ruby red eyes had shone ominously bright in stark contrast to the obscurity of their dark masses of bodies. At the face of the creature, she was petrified and stunned, paralysed by the thought of the consequences of their discovery, but its blatant ignorance baffled her. She had sworn that she saw the creature looking towards her. She had felt those burning eyes bore into her face. Didn't it care that they were there? Or could it be that the monster last night really could not sense her presence?

…

Silence droned on for what felt like an eternity. Slowly, Lilly was finally drifting into slumber, exhausting herself with her jumbled thoughts.

A soft whisper blew a light breeze past her, enveloping her in a relaxing embrace. It felt so good, such a warm feeling like snuggling into bed after a hot shower.

Releasing her tension, Lilly could feel cool fingertips brushing her forehead again. Fingertips? But they were going in the wrong direction…

With a frown, those fingertips swept over her eyelids slowly, down her cheeks, lightly brushing over her lips with butterfly touches.

Those fingers felt wrong. Alien. As soon as she snapped her eyes open, she gasped at the closeness of the face in front of her. So close that their noses could almost touch. Sharp nose, smooth skin, high cheekbones, icy eyes. It was _him_. His features were crystal clear at this intimate distance. What features she assumed he'd have, she found she was corrected as each line was finely cut into the face before her.

As soon as her eyes were open, the darkness had began to shroud her vision. A cloak of obscurity was draped over the face at once, hiding from view, but in that quick glance, she'd memorised his features. She'd memorised the face of the man, even when she was swept into a deeper sleep.

…

It was the whirring, mechanical sound that awoke her. Snapping her eyes open there was nothing but blinding white light in her face. It was painful for her light sensitive eyes and she snapped them back shut tightly. She had felt this before. It was like waking up underneath the junk and rubble all over again.

A few seconds, minutes, hours – she couldn't tell anymore – the light began to recede. Tentatively, she allowed slivers of an image to enter one eye, then the other.

The light was gone now; it was dark and cold, but with a feeling of sterility. Her eyes were slowly registering blurred images above her. It looked like a room; the ceiling was a blur of dark grey with swirls of a brighter shade. Where was Sharma? Weren't they in a storage room?

Lifting her head slightly, she used her arms to raise herself up, taking in more of the smaller details. Details like how she was lying on a slightly raised platform, how she actually felt warm despite her state of undress, how the dark colours of the walls of the empty room were swirling, actually moving, like marble and how there seemed to be no entrance nor exit to this room. She crawled onto her legs, feeling more and more tense with her strange surroundings, struggling to stand on her unused feet and tumbling back down. It was like learning to walk again, her mind overestimating her legs ability to take her weight.

With a few more tries, she was standing upright, staring intently at her surroundings. It was air tight. There wasn't a seam to be seen in the walls and that meant she wasn't going anywhere. Hobbling towards the walls, despite the lack of pain she felt in her legs, she watched the lazy swirl of the occasional green and blue amongst the black. She gingerly touched the cold, damp surface. It felt disgusting, like something was writhing underneath the surface, whipping around at her touch. Her hand recoiled back but she was determined to find a way out of the dank room.

It was hard to see without any bright light, but the muted glow of the walls gave her some comfort. Sucking up her courage, she reached out again to the walls with both her hands this time. Running along the slimy surface, feeling wriggling worms beneath her fingers.

Still she found nothing and there weren't any corners that she could see, just a continuous sheet of slimy worms which had now begun to pulsate, glowing violently. It felt like the walls were tightening around her, a wave of claustrophobia washing over as slimy, wet pops could be heard above her.

Looking up, the high ceiling was pulsating. It was something she didn't really focus upon but now that she saw it, it was a squirming mass of tentacles, like snakes twisting about in a tangle of tails. She shrieked as something heavy plunged to her head, then her bare shoulder. Jumping backwards, she realised from its cold touch, the squirming tangle above was oozing some sort of substance. Touching the fluid, her hand came away slightly red-tinged. More drops of viscose, fluid dripped down to the cold, polished floor.

Backing away in disgust, she kept her eyes ahead of her; something was beginning to give way. The tentacles were squirming and rolling over each other violently now, small splinters of light beamed through the tightly embraced coils. The frenetic movements were joined by the intense glowing of the walls, colours ferociously whirling and mixing.

The small cracks of light began to seep more of the fluid, plopping onto the ground with a splat. The cracks then widened with each lurch. More liquid dribbled down.

Something was being pushed through, she realised. At first it was like a ball, a round solid object that was coming out of the coiled tangle but as more of the spherical shape emerged, clumps of string began to peel away. Long clumps that were too fine to be string.

Squinting her eyes, they were strands of dark hair, stuck together and barely clinging to what had to be a head.

It was nauseating to watch, something out of an alien movie. Taking more steps back, she was confronted by the wall at her heel; the writhing feeling against her back was enough to make her squeal and jump forward.

Looking back up, a nearly unrecognisable torso could now be seen: no skin, just raw lumps of what looked to be flesh clung to a skeletal frame.

With a squelching thump and a final convulsion, the squirming ceiling deposited the limp body head first to the hard ground and returned to its dormant state, slowly weaving between each other and obstructing the light that filtered through. The walls had even dulled and the colours shifted back to grey.

She found herself pressed flat on her back against the wall despite the warm, slow wriggling feeling of the surface beneath her skin, her eyes glued to the heap in front of her.

She was horrified and scared and she knew that she should be screaming like hell – a skinless, mutilated body doesn't drop down in front of you everyday – but there was a sick curiosity lurking in her head, sort of like a fascination. Was it really dead? What the hell _was_ it? It looked raw, bleeding and deformed, but unmistakably humanoid. It looked dead.

She could smell the blood it reeked of; almost feel the coppery, metallic taste at the back of her throat.

Waiting for about five, ten, twelve minutes, there was no reaction; the figure didn't stir, even when she moved closer. Emboldened, she took an audacious step forward to the slimy mound. Then another. Still no response, so she took small steps until she was standing a foot away. Kneeling, she found questions racing through her mind: What had caused this persons death? What had it gone through to end up like this? It seemed obvious that the body was that of a human so what was it doing here?

She wasn't going to get any answers anytime soon, but she continued to kneel before the figure studying intently through the dim light. A buzzing sound began to ring in her ears, weak at first, then it became stronger, like a wasp humming next to her ear and all of a sudden, she was feeling restless. Her arms, legs, back, stomach, even her jaw began to ache. A sharp jabbing pain like tiny needles stabbed everywhere and suddenly she didn't want to investigate the body in front of her anymore. She wanted to get away.

The ache was getting stronger and to add to that, gravity seemed to intensify its pull, dragging her down. She tried to resist it, using all her strength now to prop herself up and stop from falling face down to the floor. The humming buzz was becoming a roar in her ears, leaving her head spinning.

All of a sudden, it stopped as soon as a damp, soft yet bony hand clamped onto her wrist. Her body froze at that instant.

Opening eyes she didn't know she shut, her eyes fell onto the bloody, fleshy hand that gripped her wrist so tightly. Her breath was coming ragged heaves, eyes trailing up from the hand, to the arm, to the torso that was now turned towards her.

It was hard to see anything in the dimness, but at that moment, she saw everything clearly as if it were daylight.

The head lolled around slightly to face her, the clumps of long hair obscuring part of the raw and bleeding, half-skinned face. A gap opened slightly on the face, the mangled raw lumps seemed to be moving – was it the mouth? – but no sound came out. It was all she needed as her eyes widened and her grimy hands flew over her mouth.

It didn't matter that she was in this enclosed room with no way to escape, it didn't matter that the place was so unusual and out of this world. All that mattered was that the body that was pushed out from the ceiling held the face that she knew so well. It was her face.

She opened her mouth and she screamed. Again, and again, and again.

…

Opening his icy crystal eyes, the corner of his lip curled slightly.

Saul watched this with weary eyes. A smile was something that no being had ever seen. He was sure of it. A slight, miniscule upturn of the corner was sometimes seen when he was in a reasonable mood, but other than that. Nope. _No one_ had ever survived long enough to see it happen.

So. That led Saul to wonder: who was the next unfortunate soul to be punished? And just what was he smirking at?

Standing up, he gracefully strode closer to the seated figure, relieved to be standing instead of kneeling. There was always that feeling of being vulnerable when one had to look up at someone else.

Especially when that someone else could rip you in two at the blink of an eye. Maybe even less. Half of a blink.

Saul would have to concede that he could do it just at one blink. Hey, we can't all be Mr. Perfect, can we?

Today, however, Saul was intent on being praised for doing a job well done. Perfectly, if he had to say. They added a few more to their growing collection of Sand demons so there shouldn't be any complaints really.

"What is your progress?"

It was a crisp, slightly rough-edged voice, commanding and direct.

"It's begun. It was faint, but the signs are clear. Some sand in the backyard would be nice to play with." Saul said mischievously, mentally snickering at his joke.

"I have seen it as well. I want the other classes found."

There it was again! That small curve of the lip gave a sinister appearance. Saul bowed his head.

"We have made some preparations before our march, but that will depend on the abilities of this batch."

"In time. We must wait."

"And if there are…interruptions?" he knew he had to tread on this lightly, demons _were_ naturally volatile.

Instantly catching on, those glacial eyes narrowed.

"Then you will have to see to it that they are dealt with."

He knew a dismissal when he heard it.

Saul bowed his head, smoothly swivelled on his heels and strode out the entrance, his long, sapphire blue coat flowing behind him.

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AN: It has been a verrry long time since I've updated or written but I hope that this is still in line with the other chapters. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. It really helped me pick up the story again. Now if I can only write the next one…o 

Chrome – Hey there! I know what you mean…but I haven't been reading fics in a looooong time. Thanks for your support and review – I'll try my best to update more often but I can't guarantee anything!

Anonymous – Thanks for alerting me, truthfully I'm paranoid about the characters. I'm trying to turn away from the MS path, but it's harder than I thought so I appreciate your honest advice and I'm taking them into account.

Catalina86 – Thanks for commenting; it helped boost my confidence into writing the next part and for a relative newbie like me, I'm just grateful for any review!

Tyrant Hamster – Thanks for reviewing! I agree, the second chapter was a bit subdued but I'm glad you liked the first. Was this one SCARY? Huh? Huh? Probably not…sigh --

--- - I can't wait either! I'm glad you enjoyed the fic so far and thanks for reviewing!


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